Over 1,200 men of the Armed Forces of Democratic Republic of Congo have ceded or surrendered Goma, the country’s largest city to M23 rebels with DRC military uniforms flooding the streets after they pulled off the army attires and took refuge at UN Peacekeeping military base leaving South Africa soldiers to continue to fight on, but South Africa military formation in Congo on Tuesday issued a statement denying that its men did not surrender to M23 rebels, insisting that the White flag hoisted by one of his soldiers on Monday during heavy gun battle with the rebels was normal military tradition for both sides to ceasefire to enable the South Africa troops passage to receive medical supply and as well give room to the M23 rebels the opportunity to rescue their men injured in front of the South Africa military base near Goma Airport, this, as thousands of pro government protesters attacked and burnt some portions of US, French, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and other foreign embassies in Kinshasa.

It was gathered that protesters burned tires and threw stones in front of the US Embassy’s main compound, according to local news reports, and breached the site of a new embassy building that is under construction, according to an American official in Kinshasa who spoke on condition of anonymity to preserve staff safety. The site was later secured and no one was injured, the official said as reported by the New York Times.

Reuters reported that “Goma residents and UN sources said dozens of troops had surrendered, but some soldiers and pro-government militiamen were holding out. People in several neighbourhoods reported small arms fire and some loud explosions on Tuesday morning.

By Tuesday afternoon, several diplomatic and security sources said the M23 rebels had taken full control of the airport, putting them in charge of a vital link to the outside world”.

According to Reuters: “M23 is the latest in a string of ethnic Tutsi-led, Rwandan-backed insurgencies that have brought tumult to Congo since the aftermath of the genocide in Rwanda 30 years ago, when Hutu extremists killed Tutsis and moderate Hutus, and then were toppled by the Tutsi-led forces that still govern Rwanda.

Rwanda says some of the ousted perpetrators have been sheltering in Congo since the genocide, forming militias with alliances with the Congolese government, and pose a threat to Congolese Tutsis and Rwanda itself.

Congo rejects Rwanda’s complaints, and says Rwanda has used its proxy militias to control and loot lucrative minerals such as coltan, which is used in smartphones”.

Sky News reporter, Yousra Elbagir witnessed rebels taking over Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo while Congolese forces surrendered their uniforms, reported with a video showing the DRC soldiers pulling off their military uniforms and dropping them at a section of the road in Goma.

Furious protesters stormed the US Embassy in Kinshasa, chanting anti-imperialist slogans and setting fires with some visuals showing large crowds attempting to breach the embassy’s logistical cente.

Also in the Congolese capital Kinshasa which is about 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) west of Goma, protesters attacked a UN compound and embassies including those of Rwanda, Uganda, France and the United States, expressing anger at what they said was foreign interference or inactions that enabled M23 rebels to be able to take control of Goma. Looters ransacked the embassy of Kenya, according to local media and videos from residents in the capital city.

M23 spokesperson, Willy Ngoma was seen in Goma, accompanied by his guards after M23 rebels have taken control of Goma International Airport, as reports indicate government soldiers have surrendered and sought refuge at the city’s UN base

Security forces later responded to attacks targeting Ugandan, Rwandan, American, Kenyan, and French Embassies as protesters in Kinshasa stormed these diplomatic buildings, accusing them of supporting M23 rebels who are currently in control in the city of Goma.

The sound of gunfire could be heard in the capital of North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as dozens of M23 rebel fighters rode on the back of trucks in social media video verified and published by Reuters on Tuesday.

In Goma, armed men could also be seen running across a road amid a fierce gunfight.

Dead bodies were scattered in the streets of the city, and hospitals were overwhelmed with patients with gunshot and shrapnel wounds, a day after the rebels marched into Goma, the biggest city in eastern DRC, the UN and other aid agencies said on Tuesday.

The Red Cross said that one of its hospitals had received over 100 patients within 24 hours with head wounds and chest trauma from mortars and shrapnel.

M23 rebels entered Goma on Monday in a major escalation of a three-decade conflict. They were continuing to face pockets of resistance from few army units and their backers.

Meanwhile, more than 100 FARDC soldiers, FDLR and Wazalendo who fled to Rwanda from Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are being held in Rubavu District. The New Times news team who visited the site on Tuesday, reported that some of them are being treated from injuries.

Goma is a key location in the conflict-battered North Kivu province whose minerals are critical to much of the world’s technology. Rebel groups have long fought over control of eastern Congo’s mineral wealth, and the conflict has often pitted ethnic groups against one another, with civilians forced to flee their homes, according to local observers.

South African National Defence Force, SANDF said it “has noted with concern the widespread circulation of a video on social media accompanied by misleading claims suggesting that SANDF forces surrendered to M23 rebels. We wish to set the record straight.

The footage in question depicts a white flag raised, which is an outcome of discussion
between the opposing fighting forces to agree on a tuce to allow M23 to recover their dead in the vicinity of our base. This will also open the route for our troops to access medical facilities. This is common practice in any war.

Let members of the public not be alarmed by a video clip and its meaning.

The SANDF remains fully  committed to Its peacekeeping responsibilities under the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo”

The South Africa military formation in another press release on Tuesday confirmed that three of its soldiers were killed by M23 rebels during a heavy gun battle with the rebels around Goma Airport on Monday.

Adding that one of its soldiers who sustained injuries in previous days fight with the M23 rebels have succumbed to the injuries or died, bringing the total numbers of South Africa soldiers killed in recent days in Goma to 13.

Kenya President, Williams Ruto in a video broadcast on Monday, said; “the escalating deteriorating peace and security situation in the DRC is of grave concern. The humanitarian crisis is being exacerbated by ongoing military actions, including the closure of airspace in Goma.

I call for the immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities, emphasise the obligation of all parties to facilitate humanitarian access to affected populations and urge both sides to pursue peaceful means to resolve this tragic conflict.

As chair of the EAC, I call on the parties to the Luanda process and my brothers, President Félix Tshisekedi and President Paul Kagame, both of whom I have spoken to this evening, to heed the call for peace from the people of our region and the international community.

After consulting the Heads of State of EAC Member States, we will convene an Extraordinary Summit in the next 48 hours to chart the way forward.

The EAC stands ready to forge stronger collaboration with the African Union, Southern African Development Community and the international community in encouraging the warring parties to give priority to dialogue”.

According to New York Times, “The United States on Tuesday advised US nationals to leave the Democratic Republic of Congo on commercial flights after hundreds of protesters attacked several foreign embassies and a United Nations building in the capital, Kinshasa.

“Due to an increase in violence throughout the city of Kinshasa, the US Embassy in Kinshasa advises US citizens to shelter-in-place and then safely depart while commercial options are available,” a security alert published on the embassy’s website read.

The embassy issued the notice at the end of a tumultuous day in Kinshasa, where the State Department reported “violent protests” at multiple US government buildings”.

We had on Monday reported that thousands of prisoners at Munzenze Prison facility in Goma, the capital city of North Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo may have set themselves free after M23 rebels took control of Goma early morning on Monday with videos posted online showing civilians flooding back to Goma and welcoming the M23 rebels in a rousing manner.

Earlier on Monday, we also reported that one of the most troubled countries in Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo government has begged civilian residents in the country to flood streets today Monday, 27 January 2025 just as M23 rebels are now in control of Goma, after killing the Congolese military commander, over nine South Africa soldiers, a total of 12 UN Peacekeepers, forcing other Congolese soldiers to surrender their weapons before the 3:00am Monday 27, 2025 deadline set.

We had earlier in the month reported that M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo early this year advanced and seized the town of Masisi, same period the Congolese government sent 172 death row prisoners to executioners with 102 already confirmed executed while the government kept mum on the third batch of 70 prisoners including the May 19, 2024 37 coup plotters who were convicted and sentenced to death in September, 2024 just as the country Minister of Justice, Constant Mutamba threatened journalists with death penalty if they relayed the activities of armed group he described as Rwanda army and its M23 auxiliaries.